Life and Times at Konoha High
by Cenedarprime
Summary: Formerly titled Talent Show. I'm rewriting it because it sucked . Naruhina fluffiness. So fluffy it's unhealthy, it's unethical. hell, this much fluff should be illegal! Naruto people in high school...Put on hiatus for Jounin Exams
1. School Daze

**I do not own Naruto or any of its related characters. That honor belongs to Kishimoto Masashi…lucky dog…XD **

_Chp. 1: School Daze…err…Days_

"THERE HE IS, GET HIM!"

Naruto skidded around the corner, just barely avoiding colliding with other students in the hall, and bolted down the hallway as fast as he could. He looked behind him and begged his legs to carry him faster. His stomach dropped as he saw that he was being followed by no less than five of the Konoha High football offensive line. "CUT IT OUT, I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

This was a lie, and a very bad one, a fact that Naruto Uzumaki was painfully aware of. But it wasn't his fault! It all started back in the gym…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Naruto's ears caught the yelp of a terrified freshman. He always knew when it was a freshman, they seemed to have these high, squeaky voices that would make you want to puncture your eardrums to stop hearing it. He looked behind and sighed, already knowing what was going on._

_The football team…the biggest group of muscle heads, jerks, athletes, and morons to ever set foot inside an educational institution. Naruto didn't want to get involved and end up on the receiving end of their aggression, but his inner sense of justice kept him from shutting up and staying out of the way._

_Just before one of the bigger guys was able to sock the kid out cold, Naruto ran up behind him and tapped his shoulder. He turned around just in time to catch Naruto's fist…with his face. The defensive guard was laid out faster than anyone could think. The team turned their heated glares to Naruto, who nearly wet himself upon meeting said glares. He scratched the back of his head and smiled, "Well, uhhh…SEE YA!" Naruto bolted from the gym, the players hot on his heels. _

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

And so Naruto found himself, once more, running from what he was sure would be excruciating pain and suffering as he rounded the corner once again, barely managing to eke out an "Oh!" before he collided with another student head on.

Naruto landed on his back, and let out a strangled "OOF!" as the student landed on top of him. His eyes opened slowly in blurred confusion and pain. "Owww…I'm sorry about that…I was just…"

"I-it's o-okay….I was k-kind of spacey too…"

Naruto's eyes opened fully, and he felt his tongue tangle into a knot in his mouth. His crystal blue eyes stared directly into the pale, lavender, pupil-less eyes of the girl currently laid out on top of him. A fierce blush entered both their faces, the rest of the world around them seemingly gone for the time being.

"_Whoah…she's…really pretty…_" Naruto thought to himself. Her smooth, dark indigo hair fell to about her shoulders, and framed her fair, pale face perfectly. But it was those eyes…those lavender eyes. Naruto caught himself staring and coughed nervously, helping the girl back up to her feet.

"I'm really sorry about that, Miss…" The girl shook her head and said, "It's no problem, I-I…I…" She was impressed, to say the least. She had never remembered seeing a more handsome face. And those weird marks on his face…they looked almost like whiskers. They only seemed to add to the whole mysterious quality about him. His spiky blonde hair fell messily atop his head, spiking out wildly, almost like porcupine quills. And his eyes…they shone with a deep sapphire light, as if there was a fire inside his body.

"I'VE GOT YOU NOW, UZUMAKI!"

"Damn it…"

The players appeared at that moment and the biggest one of the group grabbed Naruto by his collar. The girl ran up to the guy, even though he was easily twice her size, and stammered, "L-let him go! D-don't hurt him!" The team merely laughed and man holding Naruto said, "Lookie here, fellas…Uzumaki's got himself a little _girlfriend…_say, you're actually kinda cute…maybe later, once I'm done pounding this punk, you and I could…"

Just then, a cool but stern voice called out, "It would be in your best interests to keep your filthy thoughts and hands away from my cousin, Hiroshi." The player looked to the side and his face paled to the color of paper. There stood none other than Neji Hyuuga, the captain of the Konoha High football team. "N-N-Neji-senpai! This girl is…"

"My cousin, yes she is. Wait…Naruto? Is that you Naruto?" The blonde turned his head around and grinned widely. "Yep, it's me Neji-san. Looks like your team is pretty unpredictable…damn loose cannons they are!"

"Naruto…who did you lay out this time?"

"Ummm…the guy who wears number 33."

"Takuyo? Again? That's the third time this week, dude! You nearly gave him a concussion last time!"

"HE DESERVED IT, HE TRIED TO BREAK MY LEGS!"

Neji walked right on up to Hiroshi and said, "Drop Uzumaki and leave my cousin alone punk, or I'll have you doing laps till you lose function of your legs, PERMANENTLY." Hiroshi dropped Naruto and ran off with his team, thoroughly terrified of Neji.

"You alright, you little dobe?"

"Yeah…nothing's hurt…just my pride…"

Neji turned to the girl and said, "I apologize for my team's behavior. They're not the sharpest tools in the shed I'm afraid…how's your first day been?" The girl frowned and said, "Terrible…I'm l-lost and I can't find anything, I've b-been late to all my classes so far…."

Naruto looked to her and said, "Wait, you're new? Wouldn't you have a student guide to show you around then?" The girl looked back to the packet she was holding and indeed, he was right. But as she read her guide's name, she found herself blushing and quite incapable of speech. Naruto peeked over her shoulder and saw the name…more specifically, _his name_.

"Hey, that's me! I guess I'm your guide, huh? Well then, Naruto Uzumaki's the name, believe it! And…you are?" When she didn't speak Neji did for her, "Naruto, this is my cousin, Hinata Hyuuga. She is a junior, like you, and she'll be spending the rest of her high school career here in Konoha."

Neji pulled Naruto aside and said quietly, "Naruto…be _gentle_ with my cousin. She's very shy and awkward around new people. So if I hear about you getting her into any of your usual messes, you'll have me to deal with, got it?"

"Loud and clear, officer."

Neji smirked and said, "Don't worry Hinata, Naruto is a good guy, if not a little goofy at times. You two take care, I'll see you after school Hinata." Neji disappeared into the crowd, now thinning out as they went to class. "So your name's Hinata, eh? That's actually a really pretty name…" She blushed furiously again and it took all her willpower not to faint into his arms right there. "C'mon, I'll show the ropes of Konoha High!" Naruto took her arm and gently guided her by his side as they disappeared into the science wing…


	2. Life The First day

_Chp. 2: The First Day_

Hinata was astounded. No, astounded wasn't the right word. She was overwhelmed.

When she came to Konoha High that morning, she expected to make no friends, get to all her classes late (if at all) and likewise make herself look like a complete and utter moron in front of the entire student body.

But what had actually occurred that day differed greatly from her fears. In fact, by all accounts, she considered this one of the best days of her entire life. At the top of the list was, of course, Naruto. She knew he was one of the most gorgeous guys she had ever seen, ever, and was ecstatic that he ended up being her guide. With Naruto's help, she managed to get to the rest of her morning classes on time. What was more, Naruto seemed to have many of these classes with her, so she was never really lost for company. She kept telling herself to pay attention to the teachers as much as possible to continue her studies, but she found her attraction quite happily taken up by the handsome blonde seated next to her quite often.

By the end of the morning, Hinata wouldn't have been able to tell anyone a thing about what she learned in class. But she would've been able to write whole novels about Naruto. She would most likely squeal about how he wrinkled his nose and his face when concentrating on a problem, or how his whisker marks made him look like a sleeping fox when he nodded off in class (which was quite often, especially in history). She would've been able to accurately describe the exact shades of blue mixed in his eyes or the way his blonde hair shone in the droning school lights. She would've sang about how his deep, hyper voice seemed to make her heart melt every time he spoke.

But it wasn't like she was _obsessed _with him. She would never be obsessed over a guy…_right?_

_"Get a hold of yourself, Hinata! You only think you're attracted because he's been helping you around today. And his eyes are nice…and his hair, his voice, his build…GAH! STOP IT! I can't fall in love with a guy in one day! It doesn't work like that, right?"_

Hinata slumped in her chair in the cafeteria, putting her face in her hands. "I could be wrong…I guess I do like him…"

"Like who?"

Hinata's head whipped up to find a slightly puzzled but amused looking Neji. "N-Neji! I…I…" Neji smiled and sat down next to his cousin. "I should've figured it, that kid has no idea what influence he has on people…" Hinata stared at her food, pointedly trying to avoid her cousin's inquisitiveness.

"Hinata, you can't hide anything from me, I know you better than anyone, and you know it."

"But…b-but what can I do? Why would somebody like N-Naruto be interested in m-me?"

"Hinata, you don't give yourself enough credit. I saw you when you tried to stop my guys from hurting him this morning. You might've been scared, but you tried to stick up for him anyway. That takes guts, it takes true courage. And if I know Naruto, that's one of the things he prizes most, not letting fear keep you from doing what's right."

Hinata considered this for quite awhile, and remembered another trend of events from the morning as well. "Neji…Naruto is a really nice guy…so why is it that so many people seem to not like him?" Neji put down his food and contemplated his response for a few moments. "A lot of the kids in this school, like you and me, come from fairly privileged families, Hinata. Naruto is not in the same boat, however…he was always ridiculed as a kid because of those marks on his face, the ones that look like whiskers. A lot of the older people in town think he's a street rat and a thug, all because of things he couldn't control…"

"L-like what?"

"Like people spreading rumors about me. Isn't that right, Neji?"

Neji and Hinata both paled when they met Naruto's gaze. It seemed unreadable, but Hinata saw something all right…he was hiding a deep hurt. "I never pegged you as the kind to start rattling off other people's private affairs, Neji."

"Ano, Naruto…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

"Maybe…but the damage has been done. She might as well know…but not now. Right now our top priority is making sure Hinata has a good end to the day today."

Neji quickly nodded and began working on his food again. Naruto cast Hinata a seemingly hollow smile and did the same. As she started her lunch, she decided then and there that she would learn as much about Naruto as she could. She saw that pang of hurt in his eyes, and it didn't sit right with her at all. She wanted to help him, though she wasn't sure why.

So when Naruto walked home from school at the end of the day, she made sure to follow discretely, trying to see exactly how he was so pained…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto finally reached his apartment building and sighed heavily. Another day, another seven hours of his life eaten up by that accursed school. But today he seemed oddly lighthearted, and all because of that girl…

He couldn't deny it, Hinata was something special. It had been quite an interesting day…going from average student to tour guide in one fleeting moment before third period. He slumped up the stairs, dragging his pack behind him as he fumbled for his keys in the back pocket of his jeans. He jammed the key into his door and sighed as it creaked open. He counted down from five in his head and on cue, a large, old, broad shouldered man appreared from the room five doors down from him and starting ranting, "Uzumaki, where's my rent? You're behind two months now, AGAIN!"

"I'm a student Jiraiya, not some rich snob's son! I'm working on the rent…"

"You're working on it? Last time I checked, they didn't accept "I'm working on it's" at the store, kid!"

"Which store, perv? The liquor stand or the adult film shop?"

"STOP CALLING ME A PERVERT!"

Naruto slammed his door closed, drowning out the old man. "Damn Jiraiya…damn rent…" He threw his pack into the corner of the room and flopped on his couch. He was thankful that his parent's had left him this nice apartment…to bad they couldn't have done anything about the huge rent Jiraiya was putting on it before they…well, needless to say Naruto had issues with money. Living by yourself always made available income a rare commodity.

Outside his room, Hinata's nervous figure steadily emerged from the stairwell at the end of the hall. Her eyes darted to the door Naruto walked through, and then the one at the end of the hall where that odd old man was yelling at him for rent. _"Why would Naruto-kun be paying rent? Shouldn't his parents be doing that…unless…oh god…he's not…is he?_"

Hinata scared herself with that. What if…what if Naruto didn't have any parents? What if he was an orphan? Hinata found a new determination inside herself and reached into her bag, pulling out…her wallet and checkbook. She marched right on up to the old man's door and knocked smartly.

The door creaked open and he looked at Hinata in mingled apathy and annoyance. "What do you want, kid?"

"Pardon me sir, but how much does that man you were just yelling at owe you for rent?"

"What's it to you?"

"I'm just trying to be accurate, sir."

"Let's see…two months puts him at about 1,000 bucks…why?"

Hinata quickly whipped out a pen and thanked the gods above for her family's inheritance that she had gotten. She scrawled out her name and the amount of money and handed Jiraiya the check. "You'll find that this will cover his rent for the past two months along with the next four, correct?" Jiraiya merely stared at the check with wide eyes and nodded dumbly. Hinata bowed to him and closed the door, turning once again to Naruto's room.

She hesitated for a long time. If she was right…if Naruto was alone…he seemed awfully avoidant of it in school, what if he didn't want people to know? But she remembered that slight hurt in his eyes, and how she never wanted to see it again…she knocked on the door…


	3. The Uzumaki Home

_Chp. 3- The Uzumaki House_

Naruto stared at the ceiling, trying to rack his brain into some sort of inspiration that would result in his missing rent payments being paid up. As usual, he got nothing. He thought he heard Jiraiya's door open again, so he wasn't surprised when there was a knock on his door. He glared at his door and stomped on over, fully expecting to give Jiraiya a thorough berating…

"Dammit Jiraiya, I told you I was…!"

He instantly froze and his eyes widened until they threatened to fall out of his skull. Hinata stood in his door way, her fingers nervously mashing together, a small sheepish smile and deep blush on her face.

"Hi…Hinata-chan? What are you…?"

"I-I wanted to see you, Naruto-kun…"

Naruto nervously muttered, "You…you shouldn't be here, you need to leave…" he tried to close the door but Hinata surprised her self when she put her foot in the doorway, keeping it open by a bit. "Please, N-Naruto, I just want to…"

"Help? Well, there's nothing you can do…"

"Then can I at least know why?"

"Hn, why would you care…nobody else does…"

He managed to push Hinata's foot out of the door and closed it again. He made to walk away before Hinata's voice stopped him dead in his tracks. "It doesn't m-matter to me what everybody else thinks. I-I think you're a wonderful guy…but you seem so lost…please, won't you at least let me in your home?"

Naruto stood there for a good ten or twenty seconds, his brain arguing with itself wildly. In the end he sighed and turned back to his door…

Hinata gave up after about ten seconds. She turned to walk away until the sound of his door opening made her whip back around, her heart lightening a little bit. Naruto looked at her with a weak smile and said. "Come on in…" Hinata bowed graciously and followed him inside, closing the door behind them.

She turned to look at his apartment and fought back a gasp. It was…_nice._ Nice was an understatement, it was beautiful, all things considered. It was easily as big as her own place, and seem to be kept up just as well. Oh sure, his bedroom was a mess, but when she thought about it, so was hers. There was no way Naruto could've bought this place on his own; it was way too comfortable…

"N-Naruto-kun…how did you…"

"It's a long story Hinata-chan, and I have a guess that you're not leaving until I tell it to you. Make yourself comfortable, kick off your shoes, have a seat, the whole nine yards. I'm gonna go change quickly…" Naruto disappeared into his bedroom and Hinata sat on the couch, her eyes falling on a photo on the table…

Naruto flopped onto his unmade bed and sighed heavily. His head was ringing with a thousand questions. _"Why the hell did you let her in? Why did she follow you home? Does she really care enough to want to help? What makes her so special?"_ Naruto shrugged and threw off his shirt, putting on a plain, white t-shirt and going back out to see Hinata.

Hinata heard his door open and her eyes shot up just in time to see Naruto turn into the kitchen area. "You want something to drink? Soda? Water?" Hinata shook her head and he nodded, turning into the fridge to get something for himself. Hinata finally let a fierce blush enter her face quickly. Naruto's shirt was very form fitting, and she was quite enthralled with his physique. _"He has to work out…nobody gets that on their own…"_ One thought led to another, and her train of thought eventually landed on her, ripping off his shirt, laying hot kisses on the firm chest underneath…

_"GAH! Where on earth did that come from? I'm in his apartment, for god's sake! I can't be thinking this stuff now! But that damn shirt and his damn ripped physique aren't helping much…"_

Naruto eventually emerged and sat down next to her, a bottle of water in his hand. He noticed she was still holding the small picture she had found on the table. He smiled and took it from her, saying, "I remember this…Hinata, do you know who this is?"

She took a look at the photo and saw what appeared to be a much younger Naruto with a grown man. He had dark tanned skin and a scar across his nose. His smile was warm, almost fatherly.

"Is he… is he y-your father?"

"Of sorts… he was my foster father for sixteen years."

Hinata's heart dropped and iced over. So her fears were justified…Naruto lived alone. His voice brought her back to reality.

"Iruka was a good man… he was the only person I ever considered as family… maybe because he was the only one who wanted to be family to me… he would always take me out for ramen on weekends. He taught me manners, discipline, everything a father would do…and he gave me this…"

Naruto reached under the table and pulled out a book, much like an album of sorts. She opened it and on the first page she found a picture of a different family, at least it seemed different.

The man in it had spiky blonde hair, much like Naruto's, and his crystal blue eyes as well. His face seemed slightly narrower though, and he didn't have the whisker marks either. The woman in his arms had fiery red hair, and two green eyes that seemed to be alight with some fire inside. Her face was more round, more like Naruto's. She had the same tan quality on her skin that Naruto seemed to, and on her face…the whisker marks.

Hinata then noticed the bundle in the woman's arms. It had short blonde hair and big blue eyes, and tiny whisker marks on each cheek…

"Iruka gave me this album when I turned 16. These are my real parents, I checked so myself. I was about two months old when it happened…Iruka told me everything…"

"Naruto-kun, I…I didn't know…"

"They had left me with a friend of my mother's while they went out for dinner one night. I was asleep when it happened, but I can remember my babysitter answering the phone and getting all hysterical about something. I woke and started crying, she came in and instantly took me to the hospital…mom and dad had been attacked coming home from dinner…some thugs tried to rob them…dad tried to protect her…they were both pronounced dead at the hospital…"

"N-Naruto-kun…"

"After that I was immediately placed in an orphanage. One week later Iruka, an old college friend of my father's, came in and adopted me as his own, after hearing about the accident. Dad was a part of the police force, and apparently he was responsible for putting the thugs' boss in prison. Their plan was to execute him and his whole family for revenge. I was given the name Uzumaki for protection, and Iruka and I never looked back from that moment on…until he revealed my true bloodline to me one year ago."

He gestured around his apartment. "Iruka told me that my parents lived here once. They had left it up for sale when I was born. I bought it for a pretty decent price, the landlord was friends with dad…I cleaned it up, furnished it again…and I've never looked back."

Hinata stared at him, numb and absolutely dumbstruck. "I know a lot of the older folks think I'm some sort of street rat or thug…"

"But…b-but if they saw you here, living in this place…you could prove them wrong, right! You could show them you're not a thug…"

"Hinata-chan…I can't just do that. I want to prove to people that I can make it on my own, and not have to depend off of charity of others all the time. I'm going to prove to them that I can become somebody on my own…I don't need their pity and I don't care about their dislike of me."

Hinata felt on the verge of tears. She couldn't comprehend how one person could endure so much…and he was only 17! She felt such sympathy for him, but then she noticed something that filled her with awe. Those eyes of his…the hurt was out and clear now, but something else was with it…fire. Determination, resolve of iron. He seemed almost godly in that respect.

And in a way, his story reminded Hinata of herself…her own issues with her father…having to move away to get away from his neglect and indifference…starting her own life with Neji's help.

Naruto closed the book and plopped it on the table, leaning forward and placing his face in his hands. "I've tried to be strong…but sometimes…it just hurts…I hate it so much…" She noticed a slight tremor in his body, and the next thing she did came purely from her newfound desire to comfort him any way she could.

She scooted closer to him and pulled his face out of his hands, making him look directly at her. "Y-you shouldn't hold back those tears, Naruto-kun. I-it's only going to hurt more if you do." She then leaned in and wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him as tightly as she could.

Her warm, gentle touch dissolved what was left of Naruto's resolve. He instantly crumpled into a pile, sobbing out all the pain from the past 16 years. He hugged her back as tight as he could, afraid she would disappear if he let go. Hinata gently laid his head in her lap and soothingly whispered into his ear, lightly running a hand through his blonde hair, caressing his cheek gently. Anybody looking would've seen Hinata in a whole new light then. She seemed almost motherly…or in this case…like a loving wife comforting her distressed husband.

Naruto must've thought so, Hinata's actions seemed to calm him after a while and after he had cried his eyes dry, he allowed himself to relax even more as Hinata softly whispered in his ear. He hadn't even realized it when he fell asleep…

**A/N: Awww, Hinata is motherly here! Or like a wife, you decide. I know this chappie was kinda angsty and sad, but I promise the comedy and fluff is coming, very soon too! review if you wish and stay tuned fofr my next chappie, "Get a Job!"**


	4. Fields of Gold

**_I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, nor do I own the song "Fields of Gold"…they belong to Kishimoto Masashi and the band Sting, respectively…sorry for not updating in a while, I had writer's block majorum . But here it is, the next chappie! I know it was supposed to be called "Get a Job", but I wanted to try my hand at song, so here it is!_**

_Chp.4- Not So Lonely_

Naruto yawned quite impressively, and as his eyes blinked open a few times. He was confused to find himself on the couch. He strained his mind and the memories came rushing back…Hinata…he had told her everything… he looked around the room and didn't find her anywhere.

"Hn…must've scared her off or something…way to go Naruto…" he yawned again and stood up, smoothing out his shirt and ruffling his hair in confusion. He heard the lock on his door unclick and he whipped around in time to see Hinata walk in with a large brown paper bag. "Hinata-chan! How did you get in my…"

Hinata placed the bag on a side table and blushed. "I kind of stole your keys while you were asleep…I locked the door so nobody would disturb you. I was just doing some shopping…" Naruto raised and eyebrow and smirked skeptically. "You didn't take my money too, did you?"

"No, just the keys."

"What's in the bag?"

Hinata smiled sheepishly and opened it, beginning to place the various food items in his relatively empty fridge and kitchen cabinets. "Hinata-chan…why did you…you didn't have to…" Hinata silenced him with a finger and said, without stuttering, "I wanted to do this. Nobody should have to leave eating as little as you do. No wonder you eat so much in school." Naruto laughed nervously and scratched his neck sheepishly.

He sighed and found himself content to just watch Hinata as she loaded the food into his cupboards. She was kind of a small girl to begin with, and her shy manner only made her hold herself in such a way that she seemed almost miniscule. But she seemed more confident now, and while she was by no means a really tall girl, she was only shorter than Naruto by maybe an inch or two. Naruto eyes began traveling along the curves of her body, taking mental note of each rise and fall of her skin as she reached for the higher cabinets, her shirt raising enough for him to see a tiny sliver of her fair skin underneath.

Naruto caught himself staring and placed a hand to his face. He was very warm and no doubt blushing madly. "Err…excuse me…I need the bathroom…" He ran out before she could get a look at him and locked the door behind him. He filled the sink with ice cold water, and with a large breath, dunked his head into the basin. He whipped his head up again, spraying water everywhere as he shook his head wildly, trying to clear it.

_"For the love of god, Naruto! She is alone with you in your apartment; you can't start thinking these things about her now! You just met her, for Christ's sake! Keep your perverted thoughts down to a minimum and act like a gentleman, moron! Neji will kill me if he finds out about this…"_

He walked back out and found that Hinata was done stocking food, and her attention had turned to the scattered paper on Naruto's kitchen table. Many of the papers seemed covered with some sort of scrawl…upon closer inspection, she found that music had been written out on them. "Naruto-kun…I never knew you wrote music!"

"Err… it's not that good, really…I just plunk out a few lines now and then…"

"This looks like a lot more than just a few lines."

Naruto quickly took the paper from her hands and threw it in the trash. "Maybe but…I always prefer doing stuff that's already been written." Hinata got an odd glint in her eye and asked, "Do you think you could play something for me?"

"Wh-WHAT?!"

"W-well…I mean… I really love music, it calms me a lot… makes me feel good. "Just one song, please?" She had a small smile and a slightly pleading look in her pale pearl eyes that made Naruto melt inside. He sighed, defeated, and went into his bedroom. He emerged a couple minutes later with a guitar in hand. They sat down on the couch and Naruto looked at her expectantly. She blushed slightly and stammered, "W-what?"

"Well, you wanted the song, so what song?"

"Oh…err… you pick. I'll listen to most anything."

Naruto sighed and looked to be in thought for a moment. A small glint flashed in his eyes, and he began to play. Quite well, Hinata noted. Before long his voice entered in with the song.

"_You'll remember me, when the west wind moves_

_Among the fields of barley._

_You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky,_

_As we walk in the fields of gold._

_So she took her love, for to gaze awhile_

_Upon the fields of barley._

_In his arms she fell as her hair came down_

_Among the fields of gold."_

Hinata was wide eyed and in dumbstruck awe. "_This boy can SING TOO?! Somebody pinch me…I must be dreaming….or dead and in heaven… right?_" But no, she flinched at the light pinch she gave her arm, she was awake alright. Naruto nudged her as he played and looked at her expectantly. She instantly paled and shook her head, but he gave her the same pleading look she had given him before. And much to her chagrin…it worked just as well. She thanked god that she knew this song and began to sing in the next verse.

"_Will you stay with me?_

_Will you be my love?_

_Among the fields of barley._

_We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky,_

_As we lie in fields of gold._

_See the west wind move like a lover so_

_Upon the fields of barley._

_Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth,_

_Among the fields of gold."_

Naruto smiled, and did a good job of hiding his shock. Hinata could sing… hell; she could sing this song better than Sting had. He joined her voice and the next verses came out in a natural harmony that seemed to saturate the air with quiet music.

"_I never make promises lightly._

_And there have been some that I've broken._

_But I swear in the days still left,_

_We'll walk in fields of gold._

_We'll walk in fields of gold._

_Many years have passed since those summer days_

_Among the fields of barley._

_See the children run as the sun goes down_

_Among the fields of gold._

_You'll remember me when the west wind moves,_

_Among the fields of barley._

_You can tell the sun in his jealous sky_

_That we walked in fields of gold._

_We walked in fields of gold…_

_We walked in fields…of gold…"_

Naruto and Hinata were completely lost to the world at this point. All either of them could see was the eyes of the person across from them on the couch. Naruto was the first to break the silence. He practically whispered, "I guess I'm not the only one with musical talent." Hinata smiled warmly and said, "I guess not."

"Listen, Hinata-chan…I was…do you…"

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK

Naruto's eyes shot to the door and he yelled, "Who is it?" Jiraiya's voice came through the door, "There's this old guy here, says he's lookin' for a Hinata?" Another voice, much louder and firmer came through over Jiraiya's. "I swear, if my daughter is in there with you I will…."

Hinata paled and whispered, "Crap, it's my father! I was supposed to be home hours ago… I have to go, is there any other way…" Naruto quickly ran to the window and opened it, "Use the fire escape, you'll be able to get to your place after he leaves. And Hinata-chan…"

She looked back to him as she began to climb through the window, Naruto smiled and quietly said, "Thank you, for everything." She smiled one last time and disappeared. Naruto made sure she was at least halfway down the escape before he opened his door. "Can I help you…HEY!"

A man in his early fifties shoved his way in and said, "Where is my daughter, you rat! Neji said she went this way after school…" Naruto kept a vein from bulging in his head. He would have to talk to Neji about that later…

"You wouldn't happen to be Hinata Hyuuga's father, would you?"

"Yes I am rat, now where is my daughter?"

"I haven't seen her since school ended today. I was taking her around campus as a student guide and the last time I saw her was as I was leaving after the last bell of the day." Naruto kept a calm face and stated the above simply. Hiashi looked him over for a second and muttered, "If I go home and find out my daughter has been gallivanting with scum like you, Uzumaki, then I assure you that you will never set foot in this town again, got it?" Naruto nodded and muttered, "Yes, Hyuuga-sama…"

Hiashi left in a huff and Jiraiya let out a large sigh of relief as he heard the old man stomp down the stairs. "That was a close one kid…I'm guessing this Hinata was the young girl here singing with you not two minutes ago?"

"Yeah, and…wait, how did you know we were…"

"The walls on these rooms are thin kid, you know that. I almost cried, it was so beautiful. You should have her come around here more often. She ain't half bad to look at either…" Naruto growled and punched Jiraya in the gut, surprising causing the older man to crumble to the floor. "She's off limits pervert. To _any and all_ of your sick minded crap." Jiraiya wheezed, "Stop calling me a…oh, never mind…I need ice…" He stumbled out the door and Naruto locked it closed. He flopped onto his couch and heaved a sigh of relief. He looked back to his guitar and picked it up, plucking out a few notes, smiling as he disappeared into his bedroom…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Hinata flopped onto her bed at home. After having a near catastrophic argument with her father, she had finally convinced him that she had stayed after school to seek help from a teacher concerning her new school. Neji had apologized to her several times about letting slip that she had gone elsewhere before. Hiashi apparently had him cornered and when Hiashi Hyuuga corners you, you don't have a snowball's chance in hell of escaping without giving him what he wants.

Her eyes slowly fluttered closed as she fell into an oddly peaceful sleep, a certain blonde student filling her dreams that night…

**A/N: I'm sorry…sniff…that song makes me cry every time, even when I'm typing it…sniff…IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL MAN!!! But anyway, review if you like XD**


	5. Date trouble

**_Now that I am over writers block, it's time to continue our little tale! Enjoy! Again, I do not own Naruto or any of its characters…DAMN YOU KISHIMOTO MASASHI::weeps::_**

_Chp.5- What does a guy have to do to get a date?_

Three months. To think, it had been three whole months since Hinata first came to Konoha High. And yet now, she felt as if she had been there since freshman year. With Naruto and Neji's help, she had created a close knit circle of friends and finally felt like she belonged somewhere.

Naruto was just happy that Hiashi had not come after him again. Hinata had not visited him in his apartment since that incident…but every so often, he'd open his door to find a full bag or two of fresh groceries, with a tiny note attached, saying "So you won't go hungry in school. The cafeteria serves other people besides you, you know. Enjoy!"

He didn't ask Hinata about it, he knew she was the one doing it. He normally didn't accept charity from people; he saw it as weakness on his part. But for some reason… he allowed Hinata to help. What still confused him was why he did in the first place. He knew why he continued to, but what was it about Hinata that had started this?

_"Well, think about this baka… it's not like she's unattractive, you noticed that right when you first met her. She stood up for you against the football team, even thought she was outmanned, and definitely outsized. She's the only one that bothered to get to know about you and your family…she's helped you with rent. All because you allowed her to, right? Or maybe, just maybe… she would have even if you didn't want her to?"_

Naruto sat alone at his lunch table, as he often did. None of his friends had lunch with him this period, so he was often by himself, napping, trying to catch up on homework he had put off, or scribbling music on scrap paper. So naturally he was a little shocked when Neji appeared and took a seat in front of Naruto.

"Neji? What the hell are you doing here? I thought you already had…"

"Naruto, I need to talk to you… about Hinata."

Naruto did not like the slightly nervous tone in Neji's voice, he felt his stomach drop slightly and how it twisted uncomfortably in his gut. He got up and followed Neji outside, into the small outdoor lounge by the cafeteria. "Neji, what's going on? Is Hinata alright?"

"She's fine… it's me that's in trouble."

"Then why did you say it was _her_ that we needed to talk about?"

"Two reasons: One, it does involve her somewhat. And two, I knew that if I said it was about her then I would have no trouble getting your attention. And apparently I was right."

Naruto blushed slightly but gave Neji an irritated look nonetheless. Neji motioned for Naruto to sit. "Naruto…you know that homecoming is this weekend, don't you?"

"Well, duh. The whole school goes nuts over it every year…I don't know what the big deal is…"

"You only say that because you never had a date before, baka."

Naruto glared at him again and spat, "Do you want to talk to me or mock me? Cause if you're gonna mock me then I'll leave right now."

"Ano…I couldn't resist. You see Naruto…there's…there's this girl…and…"

Naruto's glare became a look of slight shock, and then a sarcastic smirk. "Oh _now I see!_ The great Neji Hyuuga is having _girl problems!_"

"Shut the hell up, baka! I want to ask her to homecoming, but I don't know how!"

"Well, who is she?"

"That's the thing…she's…err…"

"Do I know her, does Hinata know her?"

"You both do…pretty well…"

"Then who is she?"

"Umm…"

"_Neji…_"

"ALRIGHT! IT'S TENTEN! I WANT TO ASK TENTEN BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW!"

Naruto merely arched an eyebrow and sighed. He thought this might have been it… it had been obvious to him for a while that the long haired football captain had a thing for the captain of the fencing team, Tenten. Forget fencing, she seemed to be a master with all sorts of weapons and bludgeoning devices. Naruto found that out the hard way when he tried to pinch her butt as a joke back in freshman year.

"Neji, is that all?"

"What do you mean, is that all?! You make it sound as if it were nothing!"

"It is, just ask her out. It's just a simple question, what's the problem?"

"Ah, Naruto, I knew you would say that, well… if it's so easy, _then why don't you ask out Hinata, hmmm?_"

Naruto's calm exterior broke and he suddenly became very nervous. He blushed impressively, "Wha-what are you talking about?! Why would I ask out…" Neji smirked and gave Naruto a very skeptical look. "Naruto, you can't fool anybody. I've seen the way you act around my cousin, the way you keep looking at her when she isn't noticing. You try to act cool but somehow, someway, you always manage to get your tongue tied at least once around my cousin."

Naruto tried to talk back, but his shock and terror rendered his voice incapable. His mouth moved, but nothing came out. Neji chuckled and said, "It would seem the great Naruto Uzumaki is having _girl problems_ as well." Naruto found his voice and spat back, "Oh yeah? Well I bet I can ask out Hinata by the end of this week!"

"You wanna make a bet?"

"Fine, whatever, I don't care."

"Alright, if you don't ask my cousin to homecoming by the end of the week, then you… will have to clean my team's jockstraps after their next big game."

"W-WHAT?!"

"Hey, you said you were fine to make a bet, so we are."

"Grr, fine… but let me counter that bet with another one. If you don't ask out Tenten by the end of the week, then you'll…" Naruto suddenly got an almost evil smirk and Neji paled slightly. "If you don't ask her by the end of the week, you'll have to pay my rent for the next year."

"SAY WHAT?!"

"What's the matter Neji? Can't handle a little pressure? You can consider it more incentive to get off your ass and ask Tenten to the dance."

Neji growled and mumbled a few choice curses, but nodded his head. "Fine, but you better get to asking Hinata out, or else it'll be jockstrap duty for you, baka." They shook hands and walked back inside, both a little more nervous for the task at hand. Neji was nervous for two reasons:

One, he really did want to go with Tenten, but was afraid she would laugh in his pale, genius face. Two, he didn't want to be saddled with Naruto's rent…_for a year_.

Naruto was also nervous for a few reasons. One, he really did like Hinata and would love going to homecoming with her, but didn't know how he would be able to speak coherently around her long enough to ask. Two, he shuddered at the idea of having to clean jockstraps for the idiots on Neji's team. Three, he had never gone to a dance before, and had no idea how to act. And finally, should Hinata's rather overbearing father find out about this…well, let's just say Naruto would have to run across the border before Hiashi caught him and strung him up from the highest tree.

They parted ways and went to their separate classes. Neji gulped as he walked into his history class, and Naruto sighed and shook his head as he crawled into Acting and Directing class. Ready or not… these two were about to have a very interesting period…


	6. Passing Notes

**I do not own Naruto or any of its related characters, Kishimoto Masashi does.**

_Chp.6- Passing Notes_

Neji was about ready to die…of boredom. His history teacher droned on and on about whatever era they were covering today, and it took all his strength to refrain from doing two things…

One, he was struggling to not just yell at the teacher for being so dull.

Two, he was trying not to shake so hard due to the close proximity of a certain brown haired girl, sitting right next to him. Neji dared to glance to the side at Tenten, and he felt his nerves relax a little bit. She looked just as bored as him, and was doodling little pictures of her professor dying in several painful ways.

She caught Neji staring and they both quickly looked back down at their notes, blushing madly. Neji continued writing until he felt something prod his thigh. He looked down and found Tenten's hand, with a small note in it, tapping him on the leg under the table. Neji thanked his lucky stars that they sat in the thick of the crowd of students and quickly snatched the note from her. He opened it up to her neat little handwriting.

_"Please shoot me now. Or shoot him, I don't care which. Or just get me a gun, I'll shoot him myself."_

Neji bit back a laugh and scribbled his own little note beneath her message. He silently folded it up and kept his gaze straight ahead as he passed the note back to Tenten. She unfolded it and bit back her own laughter.

_"I find that clubs are much more effective…and less permanent too."_

Tenten flashed Neji a quick smile, which he nervously returned. "Mr. Hyuuga, is there something you'd like to share with the class?" The teacher was currently surveying the two teens with a skeptical look. Neji paled and stammered, "Uhh…well…uhh…" Tenten coughed and quickly tapped his desk; he quickly glanced at a note saying _"Play along…"_

Before Neji could ask, Tenten dramatically fainted in the middle of class, falling from her chair and landing on the floor with a loud thump. The teacher immediately ran over and started murmuring worriedly; he went back up to call the nurse from the classroom phone. Neji knelt down beside her and his worry turned to outright shock. Tenten opened her eyes quickly and winked, mouthing _"Play along_._"_

Neji finally got the hint and made a show of helping up Tenten as she awoke from her "episode". "Mr. Hyuuga, please help the young lady down to the nurse, take your belongings please and do not come back until you are sure she's alright." Neji nodded and helped a "drowsy" Tenten to her feet, pretending to struggle to get her to the door.

As soon as the door was shut and they were around the corner, they both burst into laughter. Neji wiped his eyes and said, "Excellent performance, that was quite convincing if I do say so myself." Tenten bowed and said, "I am an artist indeed… an artist that is sick and tired of history." They laughed again and made their way to the nurse. Tenten put on a face of mock bewilderment again and Neji placed his arm back around her shoulders to "help". Tenten thanked god that he didn't notice the blush creeping into her face from the contact. As soon as they were inside, the nurse grabbed Tenten and threw her onto the couch, stuffing a thermometer in her mouth and fussing at her desk for supplies.

The eldery nurse turned to Neji and said, "You stay here please. I need to go grab my bag from the car." Neji nodded and the nurse left in a rush. The two teens once again burst into laughter. Neji quieted down and soon realized something. He was alone, with _Tenten_. He remembered the bet he had made with Naruto not thirty minutes ago, and decided that it was now or never.

"Tenten-chan…"

"Yes, Neji-kun?"

"I was wondering…do you…err…well, what I mean is… oh boy…do you have a date to the dance?"

Tenten blushed madly, whatever she was expecting, it wasn't that. Not out of Neji at least…

"N-no… wait…are… are you…"

"Well…kinda, sort of… yeah, I am."

"Seriously!?"

"Yes."

"No fooling?"

"None whatsoever."

"Really!?"

"YES, I'M ASKING YOU TO THE DANCE ALREADY!"

Neji instantly shut up and paled to the color of a sheet, seeing a very triumphant smirk on Tenten's face. "You…you… you knew I was going to ask, didn't you!" Tenten got up from the couch and smiled warmly. "Call it a girl's intuition… oh, and by the way…" She leaned in, smirking at the way Neji blushed and kissed him on the cheek. "Yeah, I'll go to the dance with you."

Neji finally looked her in the eye and his shock turned to relief, seeing Tenten blushing just as badly as he was.

Unfortunately, the nurse came in and shouted, "My god, look at you two! You're both red as beets, you must be burning up! Lay down, both of you!"

Neji grumbled as the nurse left again and said, "Well, that's my luck, isn't it?" They both lay down on a couch, still grinning like idiots.

**A/N: Yeah-ha, way to go Tenten! I always appreciate a good bit of acting, being an aspiring actor myself. So now Neji is all set, but what about Naruto? Will he be able to ask Hinata in time? Or will he be dooomed to the ultimate torture: CLEANING FILTHY JOCKSTRAPS::insert high pitched scream here:: Stay tuned for my next chappie, "To ask, or not to ask?"**


	7. Musical 2

_Chp.7- Musical #2_

Naruto practically crawled into his acting class, he was so nervous. Not because they were doing monologues for the class, he had his memorized for ages now… it was because Hinata also shared that class with him. He took his normal seat next to Lee, expecting Hinata to come in any minute and take the seat on his own side. But by the time the teacher arrived and the bell rang, Hinata hadn't showed. The teacher began calling attendance and when she arrived on Hinata's name, Lee finally spoke up, "Professor, Hinata-chan had to go home early today! She was hit with a nasty headache taking a history quiz this morning!"

Naruto's heart dropped and his lingering hope fell immediately. So that was it… well, if anything, it gave him more time to think of a way to ask her. Hopefully she'd be back by the end of the week….otherwise… it was death by jockstraps for Naruto. He got lost in his own thoughts as the teacher kept talking until her voice rang out his name.

"Mr. Uzumaki, would you care to go first?"

"Eh?"

The teacher sighed and said, "Sleeping again, Mr. Uzumaki? I asked if you would like to present your monologue first." Naruto sighed, realizing that he was at least in the right mood to present his monologue accurately. He nodded and stood before the class, dragging a chair to the center of the class. "So, Mr. Uzumaki, what monologue will you be presenting?"

"I'll be performing the "To be or not to be" soliloquy from Hamlet."

The teacher nodded and he cleared his throat. "To be or not to be, that is the question… whether 'tis nobler in the mind…"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The bell rang and Naruto left class in a thoroughly sour mood. Not only had he not gotten a chance to ask Hinata to the dance, but he had botched up his monologue so badly that the teacher suggested he do it again at a later date, when his "head would return to class". Lee patted him on the shoulder and said, "Sorry dude, guess it was an off day. Good luck next time!"

Naruto grunted in response and Lee shook his head as he turned around. "Tenten-chan! Neji-san! Over here!" Naruto's head snapped up and he paled as he saw Neji and Tenten walk down the hall, Neji wearing a very triumphant smirk on his face. Tenten and Lee went into their own conversation, allowing Neji and Naruto to stand aside and talk.

"Well dobe, my end of the bargain has been paid. Tenten and I are officially together for the dance. And… you?"

"Hinata didn't show… she went home early with a migraine…"

Neji's smirk instantly fell away and he looked extremely abashed. "Oh… wow, sorry about that… it must've been that history quiz she was dreading, she tends to pass out and stuff when she's stressed…" Naruto ignored him and walked off to his last class. Tenten rejoined Neji and saw his worried look, following his gaze to Naruto.

"What's wrong with him? He looks like somebody shot his dog."

"He was dead set on asking her too… he was going to ask Hinata to the dance this period, but she's home sick. Now he doesn't know what to do."

Tenten mouthed a silent "o" and followed Neji to their next class.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto slumped up the stairs to his apartment and winced upon hearing Jiraiya's door open, expecting another yell for rent. Instead the old man came right up to him and said, "You got yourself a visitor, brat…" Jiraiya passed by him and went down the stairs, muttering something about taxes or whatever…

Naruto made to put his key in the door, when he heard a shuffling inside and a soft voice humming. He opened the door as quietly as possible and his eyes shot open wide. There in his kitchen area stood Hinata, filling up his cabinets with more groceries. He suddenly remembered that it was already Wednesday…Hinata always came to help restock his food on Wednesday.

Naruto made to speak, but opted not to when Hinata began singing to herself…

_The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear_

_Are still inside my head_

_The kindest words I'll ever know_

_Are waiting to be said._

_The most enchanting side of all_

_Is yet for me to see…_

_And the dearest love in all the world _

_Is waiting somewhere for me._

_Is waiting somewhere… somewhere for me._

Naruto smiled in spite of himself as she continued humming and decided to join in the fun. Right as her humming led back to the chorus, he sang the words, causing Hinata to jump and whip around, blushing madly.

_The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear_

_Are still inside my head._

_The kindest words I'll ever know_

_Are waiting to be said._

_The most enchanting side of all_

_Is yet for me to see…_

_And the dearest love in all the world_

_Is waiting somewhere for me._

_Is waiting somewhere… somewhere for me._

Naruto hummed the next interlude and Hinata smiled shyly as both of their voices once again came in for the chorus.

_The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear_

_Are still inside my head._

_The kindest words I'll ever know_

_Are waiting to be said._

_The most enchanting side of all_

_Is yet for me to see…_

_And the dearest love in all the world_

_Is waiting somewhere for me._

_Is waiting somewhere… somewhere for me._

Neither of them spoke for a while. Naruto just stared at her with a small smile, Hinata with a shy smile and an impressive blush. Naruto closed the door behind him and said skeptically, "Home with a migraine, eh?" Hinata blushed and said, "Well, I was… my head does funny things when I'm stressed… my migraines hurt but they usually pass by quickly enough. Besides, I would be here to help even if my head was still pounding."

Hinata turned back to place the last few items and closed the cabinets quickly, walking out to take a seat on Naruto's couch.

"Hinata–chan… I really could've used your help in acting today."

"Oh that's right, the monologues! I completely forgot… how did you do?"

"Well, to be frank… I sucked, big time."

Hinata's smile fell somewhat and she stammered, "I-I'm sorry…" Naruto shrugged and said, "It's nothing… the professor gave me a chance to redo it later." Hinata nodded and was silent for a while. "By the way, I ran into your cousin today, Hinata-chan…" Her head rose again and she looked confused.

"He finally asked Tenten to the dance."

"Oh thank god! He's been bugging me all week with his nerves…"

Naruto laughed and fell silent again. He cleared his throat and said, "Do… do you have a date to the dance?" Hinata blushed more impressively than ever and stuttered, "W-well…I-I want to ask this one guy… b-but I d-don't have the nerve…"

"Yeah… me too. There's… there's th-this girl I've wanted to ask… but I can never seem to figure out how."

Hinata's face fell even further, a fact Naruto did not miss.

_"She looks… disappointed? Why would she be… wait… could she… no…she couldn't… could she?"_

Hinata and Naruto both faced away from each other, faces contorted with anxiety and thought. They both seemed to flow from confused, to frightened, to determined at the same time as apparent by their changing facial expressions. Then suddenly, they both whipped around and practically yelled at each other,

"DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THE DANCE WITH ME?"

They both froze and looked at each other with wide eyes, both blushing madly. Naruto managed to stammer. "Are…are you…really asking me?" Hinata blushed even further and stuttered, "I…I-I am….are… a-are you?" Naruto nodded dumbly, his eyes never leaving hers.

Their expressions soon softened up enough and Hinata started giggling. Naruto found himself giggling as well. He fought back a couple of chuckles, and before either of them knew it, they were laughing out loud. They were laughing so wildly that neither of them noticed their bodies shifting closer to each other until they dared to look each other in the eye again.

Their faces were about six inches apart, it couldn't have been anymore. They lost control of their heads and they began unconsciously closing the distance between them. A fierce blush crept across both their faces and their lips were about one inch apart when a rough voice came in from Naruto's door.

The lock undid itself and Jiraiya walked in, saying, "Listen brat, I got some errands to run and… am I interrupting something." Naruto and Hinata leapt back to opposite ends on the couch before any contact was made, both blushing madly, a vein bursting in Naruto's head. Jiraiya stammered, "Yeah… uhh, I need you to make sure my door is locked Naruto… I'll be back in a bit… see ya…" The door closed and Hinata shot up from the couch. "On my god, look at the time! I gotta head home or else papa is gonna find my apartment empty!"

She gathered her things and ran to the door, but Naruto grabbed her arm. "Wait, are we… you know… going to the dance?" Hinata smiled and said, "Absolutely, I'd love to go with you. I'll see you tomorrow." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and ran out the door, bounding down the stairs as fast as she could.

Naruto closed the door and flopped onto his couch. His was in quite a state right now… and as he fell asleep, Hinata's pale lavender eyes floated through his mind, smiling at him as he fell into a deep slumber…

**A/N: For those who don't know, this song was from the Cinderella movie with Brandy and Jason Alexander. I heard this song a couple days ago and went, "EUREKA! IT'S PERFECT!" So Naruto finally got up the nerve. wOOt! Stay tuned for more! And remember, reviews are like chocolate, I LOVE THEM!**


	8. Preparations

_Chp.8- Preparations_

Hinata was ecstatic.

No, ecstatic wasn't the right word… Hinata was relieved, really.

She had been dreading about asking Naruto to homecoming, because as much as she wanted so badly to go with him, she always found herself unable to get the words out correctly whenever she was around him. She had resigned herself to the sad conclusion that she wouldn't be going to homecoming at all, and that Naruto would be off with some other girl.

Well, needless to say, she was wrong.

She practically skipped up the stairs and twirled like a ballerina as she unlocked the door to her apartment. She started humming brightly to herself as she dumped her pack on the couch and pranced over to her room to change. She even surprised herself with her own giddiness. Emerging from her room in a white tank top and pale lavender pajama pants, she hopped onto her couch, seeing one message on the answering machine by her phone. She sighed and rolled her eyes, she knew full well what was coming…

_"Hinata, this is your father. How many times have I told you to be home in time for my call? I swear, if you're in your apartment right now and ignoring me, then I will personally come over there and…"_

Hinata growled at the machine and pressed the erase button emphatically, halting her father's voice. She sighed to herself and flopped onto the couch, her head resting on a pillow near the end. The reason she moved away from her father in the first place was to be her own person without feeling neglected or degraded by her over demanding father. He never seemed to give a damn about her before… and yet the minute she moved away, he was suddenly the most overprotective, paranoid twit that had ever walked the planet.

Hinata sighed, she knew why he was so different, as much as she hated to admit it.

Hiashi Hyuuga was a very affluent business man in Konoha. His company was well known through the whole town, and with that fame, came a certain reputation he felt he had to maintain. When Hinata was fed up and finally moved out on her own, Hiashi did not want word to spread that his own daughter had moved away at only 18 years of age because her father was a jerk. If that word spread, his character would be diminished and his company would ultimately suffer for it.

That was why he was so mad when he almost caught her at Naruto's apartment all those months ago. He saw Naruto as nothing more than a street rat and a thug, much like many of the town citizens who had heard of "the Uzumaki brat." He figured that if his daughter was seen accompanying such "garbage", then his reputation would be all but shot to pieces.

Hinata had come to a decision long ago that big businessmen were assholes. Especially the multi million dollar businessmen like her father. All he cared about was his stupid job and his damn inheritance from his father, which had been passed through the Hyuuga family for generations. Hiashi took the company from his father, who had taken it from _his _father, and so on, and so forth, back about 10 generations or so.

What was worse, Hiashi had expected Hinata to take over the business when her time came, but after she moved out, she pretty much told him to his face that she had no intention of doing so, for the sole reason of "not wanting to become a mini version of Hiashi (a.k.a. an asshole). Hence was another reason why Hiashi would never let her be, he wanted to make damn sure that if she didn't take the company over like he did, that she would still become important in the economy.

Hinata made a disgusted face and sighed. She shook her head to clear it of such useless rants and thoughts. Her mind then returned to Naruto, and what had happened in his apartment not ten minutes earlier. Her bright smile returned and she did all she could to keep from squealing like a little child. Naruto had asked her out… she felt like this was too surreal to be happening.

She then came to a very frightening realization. She had never, _ever_, been to a school dance before, so she doubted that she had anything to wear worthy of grabbing Naruto's attention, much less worthy for something like homecoming. She ran back to her room and dug through her closet, rapidly throwing contents all over her once tidy room.

"No…_ no_… NO!" For once, she cursed her shy nature and the effect it had on her wardrobe. She had jackets and hoodie galore, normally used during the day because she preferred not have her figure so closely outlined in front of a bunch of rabid high school guys and impossibly thick headed high school girls. She needed a dress that, for once, would not be so modest that she could drown in her clothing.

She racked her brain, trying to think of someone who could help her with her problem. "_Naruto…no, I can't ask him, he isn't supposed to know about how I look until the dance! Sakura and Ino! No, that won't work either… I want to keep Naruto's attention, but I want him to keep his eyes on all of me, not just my body. And if those two attempted to find me a dress… no, can't call them... Tenten! That's it! She knows how to dress attractively, and with good taste!_"

Hinata quickly picked up the phone and dialed Tenten's number, hoping to god that she would respond. Hinata jumped when Tenten's voice actually did respond.

"Hello?"

"Tenten-chan! Oh thank goodness… it's Hinata, I need your help!"

"With what?"

"I need a dress for homecoming."

"Wait… you're going? I thought you said you weren't going unless…"

"Yes, yes, unless I had a date. I do now, and I need a dress! I don't have anything good here!"

"Oh, okay then… I'll be right over, Hinata-chan, where do you live?"

Hinata quickly rambled off her address and apartment number. "Ok then, I'll be there in a flash! See ya Hinata-chan!" Hinata hung up the phone and twiddled her fingers nervously. And just as Tenten said, about five minutes later, she arrived at her door.

Upon hearing a knock, Hinata opened the door quickly and pulled in Tenten, shutting the door and locking it quickly. Tenten looked at the flustered Hyuuga with mild amusement and said, "We a little nervous, Hinata-chan?"

"You have to help me! If I can't get a dress for the dance, then I'll…" Tenten rested her hands on Hinata's shoulder and pushed her back down onto the couch. "Slow down Hinata… and breathe, you're turning blue. Now, I want you to tell me when you suddenly got a date to the dance."

"About ten minutes ago."

"And who's the guy?"

"Well, ummm…."

"C'mon, you can tell me! It's not like you'd go with a total creep, right?"

"Right… my date… is… is… N-Naruto."

"… Naruto? As in Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Y-yeah…."

Tenten smirked and thought, "_Well, well… maybe he wasn't as lost as Neji thought…_" She smiled warmly and said, "Hinata, this is actually very good for you. I know you're not a huge fan of being social, and that's okay. But you managed to hook a guy for a dance, that's good news right there. Now, I need you to tell me the truth… how much do you _really_ like Naruto?"

Hinata could not imagine a worse question that Tenten could've asked. She blushed profusely and mumbled something unintelligible. "What was that, Hinata? You need to speak up."

"I… I…"

Tenten smiled once again and said, "I'm going to take that as a "Hinata is head over heels in love with Naruto." Am I getting close?" Hinata blushed even further and her eyes darted to her feet, but she nodded nonetheless. "Tenten… please understand, I know this is an awfully troublesome thing to call you for, but I couldn't think of anyone else! I would've called Sakura or Ino, but…"

"You didn't want them to dress you like a whore?"

"Y-yeah…"

Tenten laughed and said, "Believe me girl, I can sympathize completely. Sakura and Ino are good people; they just have a few screws loose, if you catch my drift. Now, we need to get you a dress that'll be a little less modest than your usual wear, but not so bold as to make you seem… err… _loose_. We need to go shopping, c'mon!" Tenten grabbed Hinata's arm and dragged her out of the apartment, Hinata barely managing to grab her keys and purse on the way out.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Tenten-chan…I don't think this will work…"

"Aww, nonsense, why not?"

Hinata stepped outside her changing room and Tenten immediately saw why. Pink, at least, _hot pink_, was definitely not Hinata's color. "Eh-heh… sorry 'bout that Hinata-chan…. How many dresses you got left?"

"J-just one, but I…"

"No more buts, Hinata-chan. Try it on and don't take it off until I get a good look at you!"

Hinata did as she was told, not wanting to irritate her friend. After putting on her last dress, she looked into the mirror and her jaw dropped. Not because it was too revealing… it was perfect. Tenten's eyes darted to Hinata as she emerged from the changing room, and her eyes went wide as dinner plates.

"Hinata-chan… I think we've found your dress!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

**A/N: Hinata's all set, let's hope Naruto doesn't make himself look stupid on their date!**

**Naruto: HEY! I'm not an idiot, believe it!**

**Hinata: Y-yeah… he's just e-enthusiastic.**

**Cenedarprime: Alright, I retract my last statement for your sake, Hinata, just because I like you**

**Hinata: Arigatou, Cenedar-sama….**

**(author bows)**

**Remember, reviewshappy me!!!!!**


	9. Shall We Dance?

_Chp.9- Shall we Dance?_

Naruto was nervous, to say the least.

No, nervous didn't fully describe the way his knees began to quiver slightly, how his stomach seemed to tie itself in knots, and it came nowhere near close to describing how his hands were shaking. He stood in front of apartment #1210, anxiously waiting for it to open so he could grab Hinata and scram before Hiashi had a chance to stop them.

Being the daughter of such an affluent businessman, Naruto always wondered why Hinata lived in an apartment when her family could just as easily get a huge house right outside the city. He had asked her this often, but she always managed to change the subject on him. He began to wonder if being rich was worth the trouble, judging by the way it seemed to fluster her.

When he heard a soft female voice from inside, his nerves relaxed a little bit. "Oh, you're early… come on in, Naruto-kun! I'll be out in a second!" Naruto slowly opened the door and crept inside, closing it behind him, sealing himself inside a room where a no doubt livid Hiashi would be waiting to greet him… but when he turned around, there was nobody there. Instead, he felt an odd sense of deja-vu.

This apartment was no doubt nice, but it was nowhere near a size for Hinata's family, this was a place for one person, maybe two people max. He saw an opened envelope on the side table near the couch, which was also like his, albeit much less messy and beat up. He picked up the envelope and opened it up to reveal a bill for rent, _addressed to Hinata_. If she was paying rent… that meant only one thing…

_Hinata was living by herself as well._

"Make yourself comfortable Naruto-kun, I just need to finish getting ready!" Hinata's voice sounded from inside what Naruto thought to be her bedroom. He took a seat on the couch, being sure to handle everything in the room with care. He rubbed his temples in deep thought. _"Why would Hinata be living by herself? She has a freaking millionaire for a father… she has a family, why leave it before she has to?"_

He heard Hinata's door opened and made to confront her about it, but the words died in his throat and he felt his heart stop. Naruto had made his best effort to clean up for tonight without making it seem completely formal, but soon realized that Hinata seemed much more in tune with her inner sense of style. The first word that came to his mind upon seeing her was _knockout_.

Her dress seemed simple enough. Nothing too dressy, but nice enough to show that she was going out. The low neck line revealed her pale neck and fair skin, it reached to just a centimeter or two above her knees. It was a far cry from the big sweaters and baggy clothes she usually hid under. Naruto knew she probably had a nice body, and he turned slightly pink upon seeing he was more right than he could've ever imagined. He couldn't stop his eyes from traveling up and down Hinata's body, tracing along every curve, from head to hip, down her milky legs and right to her small feet. The dress shone of a light lavender color. Her long hair was still let down, but it seemed to shine in the light.

_"Dear lord above… is SHE my date!?!?"_

He was so lost in his thought that he didn't notice how Hinata was eyeing him in the same manner. She blushed deeply upon seeing him. Naruto seemed a little more casual than her, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking, _"God, this boy is hot…"_

Naruto wore a pair of slightly worn black jeans, a pair of black shoes on his feet that seemed to have been shined recently. His burnt orange button down shirt was closed with the exception of two or three buttons near the top, giving Hinata the slightest glimpse of the toned chest underneath the cloth. His hair looked as untamed and spiky as ever, but Hinata didn't mind. She liked it that way, in all honesty.

It was a long while before either of them found their ability to speak again. Naruto finally managed to stammer out, "Hinata-chan… you… you're gorgeous…" Hinata blushed fiercely, if that was even possible, and stuttered, "Th-thanks… you d-don't look half b-bad yourself…" She cursed her stutter to the deepest reaches of hell. _"Way to kill a mood, Hinata… I thought we were supposed to be confident tonight!?"_

Naruto looked at his watch and found that it was about ten minutes until the dance really got underway. He offered his hand to Hinata and smiled, "Shall we go, my lady?" Hinata smiled shyly and gave him her hand, "We shall, good sir." As they left the apartment and Hinata locked the door, Naruto resolved to himself that he would confront her about her living alone… but later. Right now, he felt like the luckiest guy on the entire planet.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Isn't that Neji Hyuuga's cousin? With Uzumaki!?"

"Why is she with him… she could've done better, couldn't she?"

"I don't know… they look kinda cute together."

"Yeah right… Naruto Uzumaki is about as cute as a roach."

"Uhh, have you looked at them!? He is one fine piece of…"

Naruto and Hinata fought to hide their blushes as they passed by students on their way to the gym. Naruto was slightly embarrassed by the sudden praise he seemed to be garnering from girls whispering wildly to each other, one or two occasionally casting him a sly wink.

Hinata was past embarrassed and onto angry. Between the girls suddenly eyeing him ravenously, and the guys looking down at him incredulously or laughing at him behind his back, she suddenly felt very protective of Naruto. Her grip on his arm instinctively tightened, so much so that her knuckles began to go white.

As soon as they were past the majority of the gossip community, Naruto quietly asked, "Could you lighten up on the grip, possibly? I can't feel my lower arm…" Hinata instantly loosened her hold and blushed, causing Naruto to laugh. "Don't worry Hinata-chan; I'm flattered that you're so protective of me."

Hinata blushed again and smiled shyly. They finally pushed through the doors of them gym and gawked at the mass of students inside, whether dancing out near one end or sitting and chatting with friends at the scattered tables. They began trying to find an open place to sit when Naruto's eyes caught a pair of flailing arms near the opposite side of the gym. Tenten was waving her arms wildly, signaling for the two to join her and Neji, who appeared to be alone at their table.

They quickly wove between chairs and students and took a seat by their friends, much relieved to be out of the hectic maze of dancing students. Tenten practically squealed and said, "Hinata, you totally are rocking out this dress, I told you that you would look great! And Naruto-kun… I have to say, you clean up really good!"

Naruto blushed slightly and smiled, Hinata still managing to beat his blush with hers. Neji smirked upon noticing this and he traded a knowing glance with Tenten. "Eh, Tenten-chan… didn't you need to introduce Hinata to your friends or something?" Tenten smiled and said, "Oh yeah, I did, didn't I? C'mon Hinata, you've got to meet these girls!"

"B-but Tenten…"

It was too late; Tenten pulled her away from the table, leaving behind a smiling Neji and a confused looking Naruto. They finally stopped at another table, Hinata looked around and saw Sakura and Ino seated there, seemingly expecting Tenten and herself. She instantly knew what was coming, and didn't like the prospect one bit….

Ino started off the barrage, "So you're really here with Naruto?"

Sakura followed with, "He cleans up good! Have you seen his place?"

"Does he dance?"

"When did he ask you out?"

"Can I get a dance with him?"

"Do you really like him?"

"Do you know his number?"

Hinata tried to interrupt, but always found herself outmatched by Sakura's and Ino's aggressive interrogation. Tenten finally managed to stop the two and quickly said, "Hinata was asked last week, she has not been to his apartment, and Ino, you will not get his number, and he'll be far too busy enjoying his date with Hinata to bother getting a dance with you, got it?" Sakura instantly shut up and Ino made to snap back but Tenten glared back at her and quashed her unvoiced retort.

She turned to Hinata and said, "Hinata, we know how some of those girls were eyeing Naruto on your way here. Sakura, Ino, and I, along with our dates, have agreed to keep an eye out for anyone who could try to interfere with your date. Naruto is yours and yours alone."

"B-but we're not even…"

"It doesn't matter if you're officially an item yet, but we know how much you like this guy and we want you to get your fair shot at him. Don't we?" Sakura and Ino nodded vigorously.

In the meantime, Neji was explaining a similar situation to Naruto back at their table. "So, if any guy, a.k.a. anyone on my football team, tries to muscle in on your night with Hinata, you can count on me and the guys to help you out."

"You and the _guys?_ What guys?"

As if in answer, Neji pointed behind Naruto and he turned to find Shikamaru and Lee standing behind them, Lee cracking his knuckles and smiling, and Shikamaru looking… bored, as usual. Tenten finally returned with Hinata and grabbed Neji's arm. "C'mon, Neji-kun! Let's leave these two be!" Neji got up and followed Tenten out onto the dance floor, and Sakura and Ino both laid a claim to Lee and Shikamaru, respectively.

Naruto and Hinata watched them leave, and then gave each other a rather inquisitive look. Then they both burst out laughing, finally feeling some of their nerves lift. They began chatting as well, finally getting a little more comfortable around one another.

Neji and Tenten looked on from the dance floor, both smiling broadly at their work. "See, I told you this would work, Neji-kun. You need to start trusting me more."

"I do trust you! I just don't know why we're getting so involved in their business…"

"Neji, do you trust your cousin with Naruto?"

"Uhh… yeah."

"Do you trust them together at homecoming dance?"

"Yes."

"Now, do you trust a few of the guys on your team not to give Naruto a hard time in a public setting?"

"…no."

"Exactly. Now relax, enjoy yourself. After all, this is a dance."

Neji smiled and put his arms back around Tenten's waist, her own arms lacing about his neck. In the meantime, Ino and Shikamaru were surprisingly out on the dance floor as well. Ino grinned madly and said, "See, Shika-kun? Now is this whole dancing thing really that troublesome?"

"Quite frankly, yeah it is."

Ino glared at him and he instantly shut up. He remembered an old saying his father had introduced him to, _"Hell hath no fury over a woman scorned."_ Shikamaru was lost as to why he had a crush on such a troublesome female. It didn't help that she was a knockout… not one little bit. But Shikamaru would not bend to her, oh heavens no. He was far too smart and proud to end up _whipped_, as he liked to refer to it.

And yet, when Ino finally lost her glaring look and smiled that troublesome, gorgeous smile of hers, Shikamaru couldn't help but wonder if being _whipped_ was such a bad thing…

Lee and Sakura were having far too much fun dancing to really pay attention to anything else, at least that's what everybody thought. In reality however, the two eccentric teens were stealing glances in Naruto and Hinata's direction, making sure nothing was going to happen to spoil their big night.

Naruto and Hinata had found themselves quite content to sit at their table and talk to each other while the rap and pop music blared and laugh at couples who looked ridiculous trying to "grind" with their partner. But then Naruto's eyes found Neji and Tenten, and he fought to suppress his laughter, merely pointing out to the dance floor as he began to snort and chuckle.

Hinata followed his finger and laughed outright. Neji and Tenten seemed to be rather into the music, and the funny thing was, they were _good_ at it too. Neither of them had expected Neji of all people to be any good at dancing. But they were obviously proved wrong, and Tenten's intense gaze directed at him definitely proved it. Hinata giggled madly and Naruto laughed.

"Well, who would've known, eh Hinata-chan? Looks like Tenten finally pulled the stick out of Neji's butt…" Hinata giggled some more and nodded. Neither of them noticed the three girls that had slowly crept up behind Naruto, and they didn't even know they were there until they all flung their arms about Naruto's neck and cooed, "Hey there stud!"

Unfortunately, all of Naruto and Hinata's friends had seen this. Tenten, Ino, and Sakura all had a similar train of thought upon seeing this, which could be summed up by _"OH NO THEY DIDN'T!"_ Neji, Shikamaru, and Lee also had very specific thoughts, although not that similar in nature…

_"Those three had better get their hands off of him, because if they make him ditch my cousin I will be PISSED."_

_"Oh great… this is going to be so troublesome."_

_"How dare they interfere with the blossom of love between Naruto and Hinata! In the name of the fires of youth, I must stop this!"_

The girls looked at their respective guys and nodded. The guys left the dance floor and within ten seconds were behind the women accosting Naruto. Neji smirked and said, "Ladies, if you wanna dance, we're game." A particularly nasty redhead snapped back, "Get lost, we wanna dance with _Naruto-kun_…"

Lee tried to interrupt, "But Naruto is…" A brunette next to the redhead gave him a withering glare and he paled visibly. Shikamaru sighed and said, "This won't end well…" The girls began tugging at Naruto, all pleading for a dance. The redhead got bold and grabbed his wrists, pulling him from the chair onto his feet. Naruto managed to wrench his fists from her grip, and she reached for him again.

A hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed the redhead's wrist tightly and a female voice rang…

"LEAVE… NARUTO… ALONE!"

**A/N: Me and my cliffhangers… I'M SO EEEEEVIL! BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!! XD So who stopped the nameless redhead? Does she want to help Naruto and Hinata or take Naruto all to herself? Found out next chappie! And remember, the more reviews I get, the more motivation I get to update quickly!**


	10. Shall We Dance? Take 2

_Chp.10- Shall we dance? Take 2_

"LEAVE… NARUTO… ALONE!!!"

The redhead's eyes snapped away from Naruto and found her hand being gripped tightly by another girl. She looked up from the hand to the girl connected to it, and paled visibly upon meeting a pair of pale lavender eyes, set in a face that was red with anger.

"Make me, witch!"

"I'll tell you again, leave Naruto _alone._"

"Why? You're not dancing with him!"

"_Leave him alone…_"

"Fat chance."

"I'm warning you, leave him alone or I'll…"

The redhead's eyes flashed dangerously and she smirked evilly. "You'll what? Hit me? You wanna fight for him?"

Naruto saw the anger double in Hinata's face and quickly wrenched himself out of the group of girls, joining Shikamaru, Lee, and Neji. They looked on as Hinata and the redhead kept arguing; none of them had ever seen Hinata angry before. Eventually the redhead began talking so loud and so fast that people at other tables began looking over at the fight out of curiosity. Hinata could no longer get a word in edgewise as the redheaded monster kept shrieking like a moron. So, she thought of only one option left to shut up the girl and get her away from Naruto…

Shy little Hinata balled up a fist and, quick as lightning, cold cocked the redhead right in the face.

The gym gave a collective gasp. Ino, Sakura, and Tenten came over to take Hinata out in the hall to try and calm her down, while the redhead's posse dragged the know unconscious girl outside. Lee, Neji, Shikamaru, and Naruto all stood frozen in place, absolutely dumb founded at the sight that unfolded before them. Their thought processes ran something along these lines…

Naruto: _"She… she socked the girl in the eye… Hinata never hits anybody, EVER… and yet, in a strange way… that was hot…"_

Neji: _"Oh my god… how did… did she… what just… DID I MISS SOMETHING!?!?!"_

Shikamaru: _"Damn, Naruto sure knows how to pick them… and I always thought she was the one sane girl in the school… how troublesome…"_

Lee: _"Ho-ho! The fire of youth is burning brightly in Hinata tonight! Naruto is one lucky guy!"_

Naruto shook his head and came back to reality, remembering that Hinata was still out in the hallway. He quickly ran amongst the tables, feeling dozens of eyes on him as he left. He burst through the doors and found the girls walking back, minus Hinata. He walked up to them and looked Tenten straight in the eye.

"Where's Hinata? Is she alright?"

Tenten nodded and said, "Hinata's fine, she really wants to talk to you, actually. She's outside by the main doors." Naruto nodded quickly and ran off in that direction. Sakura shrugged and said, "I still can't believe Hinata knocked her out… that's so unlike her to do that."

Ino snorted and said, "She had every right to! That red headed witch was muscling in on her man! I would've given her a kick too if it was me…"

Tenten silenced the two and said, "Look, Hinata punched somebody, but can you blame her? You know she's crazy about Naruto! But anyways, it's out of our hands now. This is something Naruto and Hinata need to talk about. The guys are waiting, let's go…"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto burst out of the main doors and looked around frantically, finally seeing a lock of dark indigo hair disappear around the corner.

He followed quickly and found Hinata sitting on a bench by the basketball courts, her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees. She stared blankly into the distance and yet seemed nervous about something as well.

"Hinata-chan? Are you alright?"

Hinata snapped out of her reverie and looked at Naruto with wide eyes. She turned away to hide the furious blush that had entered her face. Naruto sighed and walked over to the bench, taking a seat next to her. "Hinata-chan, it's alright. You can talk to me you know!"

She still didn't respond.

"Look, Hinata-chan, if you're nervous because of what happened back in the gym, then don't be! I'm not mad at you or anything! Hinata-chan, come on, say something!"

Hinata slowly turned and nervously met Naruto's gaze. "Ano… I'm s-sorry Naruto-kun… I shouldn't have done that… s-she had every right to ask for a dance and I…"

Naruto edged towards her and place his hands on her shoulders, steadying her slightly trembling form. "Don't be ridiculous, Hinata-chan. You did nothing wrong back there. She might've had a right to ask for a dance, but remember, I said no to her, right? She _didn't_ have a right to force me into a dance; you stopped her, that's all."

Hinata shook her head and said, "I know, but I still had no right to hit her… I tried to be reasonable; I r-really did…"

Much to her surprise, Naruto scoffed at that. "Reasonable? Let me tell you something Hinata-chan, being "reasonable" as you put it doesn't always work with people like that girl. I've been chased around by too many idiot football players to not know that. Sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to do the right thing, and you did. Besides, you laid her out flatter than a bath mat! That was awesome, Hinata-chan!"

Hinata failed at hiding the smile and slight satisfaction that appeared in her face. "Well, l-like you said… sometimes you n-need to be direct in your approach…" Naruto smiled warmly at her, but then suddenly seemed apprehensive. Hinata gave him a puzzled look and asked, "Naruto-kun… is something wrong?"

"Eh… look, as I left the gym I noticed that there were a bunch of people that were watching the fight you had… maybe it would be best if we didn't go back in there, who knows what would happen if…" Hinata placed a finger on his lips and he silenced himself immediately. In a rare moment, her stutter and shyness left her completely as she quietly said, "This is called a homecoming _dance_ for a reason, Naruto-kun. I haven't even gotten a dance with you yet."

Naruto found himself quite incapable of speech at that moment. Hinata had one of the most awe inspiring smiles sometimes, and this time was no exception. Her eyes seemed to sparkle under the stars and moon in the sky, as if slightly pleading him to take her back inside. The light of the moon above suddenly fell about her features in just the right way, making her absolutely irresistible in his eyes. He couldn't, for the life of him, tear his eyes away from hers. Those two hypnotizing orbs of lavender… And in that one wondrous, awe-inspiring, terrifying, beautiful moment, Naruto came to a very sudden realization.

_"This is no high school crush… I… I think I… no, I KNOW… I'm in love… with Hinata…"_

Naruto miraculously kept his cool as he said, "Alright then, a dance it is, my lady." He took her hand in his and together they walked back to the gym, quite oblivious to the fact that half a dozen pairs of eyes were watching them from around the corner.

Tenten emerged from the shadows along with Neji, Ino, Shikamaru, Lee, and Sakura. "Alright everyone, let's get back to the gym before they realize we were spying on them…"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The six hurried teens made it back to the gym and sighed in relief upon seeing that Naruto and Hinata had still not returned. Tenten hurriedly said, "Okay everyone, act like nothing has happened since they left, and if anybody speaks a word of what we were doing to them, that person DIES, got it?" They all quickly nodded and returned their attention to the dance.

Outside they gym doors, Naruto and Hinata paused, giving each other one last glance and a nervous smile before opening the doors. Naruto braced himself for more whispers from curious students while Hinata braced herself for jeers and laughs from the girls in the gym for being so violent with the redhead.

Imagine their surprise when they opened the door and received some of the most thunderous applause they had ever heard before.

Naruto caught their friends in the back, who seemed to be cheering the loudest. Hinata laughed upon clearly hearing Ino's voice amongst the cheers, "You completely owned that witch! WAY TO GO!" Even Shikamaru was clapping loudly, an amused look on his normally bored face.

Both of their faces turned beet red when the DJ paused his music and said, "Man, I'd hold onto her if I were you. Any girl who can kick ass like that is a keeper in my book." This solicited even more applause from the students. Finally the music continued and the applause died away, finally allowing Naruto and Hinata to get back to their table in relative peace.

The music suddenly changed pace, and a slow song came on. This was not lost on Naruto's ears, or any of the others' ears for that matter. Trading one last smile with each other, they all rose from the table and made their way to the dance floor, which seemed dominated by couples at the moment. Naruto held out his hand and Hinata surprisingly brushed it aside, opting instead to lean into him, her arms around his neck and her head resting on his shoulder. Naruto smiled and wrapped his arms about her waist, and together they began to sway to the music.

He glanced about the dance floor, searching amidst the flood of students until he found Neji and Tenten. They seemed to be in a similar position as him and Hinata, and enjoying every minute of it. Neji finally met his gaze and gaze him a thumbs up from behind Tenten. Naruto smiled and searched again, his eyes falling upon none other than Shikamaru and Ino. He was surprised at the fact that Shikamaru was actually enjoying himself, as evident from the light smile on his face, looking directly into Ino's eyes. To the side he noticed Sakura and Lee completely oblivious to the outside world and actually sneaking in a kiss now and then. _"Way to go bushy brows…"_

His attention then returned to the girl currently in his own arms. He buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath, memorizing the scent of it. He felt Hinata smile into his shoulder, earning an almost silent chuckle from him.

Hinata dared to look up and in that one instant, time and space disappeared around the two teens. Their eyes locked and couldn't turn away if their lives depended on it. Naruto searched the depths of her pale lavender eyes, trying to find some hint as to the tremendous emotion that she was exuding to him. Hinata was star-struck, losing herself in the deep water blue of Naruto's eyes. At the same moment, the two found an emotion in each others' eyes, a truth that they had been praying to discover for a long time now.

If there were any doubts about how they felt about each other before, in that single frozen moment, those doubts were shattered like glass. They felt a strange sense of déjà vu as their faces began to close the already small distance between them, just like on Naruto's couch at home.

Hinata's eyes fluttered closed, she could feel Naruto's warm breath tingling lightly on her face; they were far too close to stop…

Naruto eyes seemed to fall closed of their own accord, he could smell Hinata's sweet fragrance from her hair, he could hear the soft quickening in her breath; they couldn't stop even if they wanted to…

The world around them shattered completely as their lips met for the first time. Their arms tightened around each other not wanting to let go for anything. Naruto felt his heart running a million miles per minute; his head was filled with some sort of sweet haze, and in that moment all he needed to survive was to keep kissing Hinata.

Hinata felt like she was on fire inside. Such incredible energy and warmth seeming to be seeping from Naruto into her body and she couldn't get enough of it. She practically had Naruto in a headlock, she was holding onto him so tightly.

Neji looked up from Tenten and found Naruto and Hinata across the way. He smiled broadly and tapped Tenten on the shoulder, tilting his head in their direction. Tenten finally saw Naruto and Hinata kissing and she fought with all her might to keep from cheering like a maniac. She opted just to embrace Neji tighter than before, not earning a single complaint from the equally thrilled Hyuuga. They would tell the others about this… but not now. Instead, Neji decided to follow Naruto's example.

Much to Tenten's delighted surprise, Neji gently grasped her chin and guided her lips to his. She then decided that looking over Naruto and Hinata was no longer necessary, she was having way too much fun here…

Naruto and Hinata parted after what seemed like a blissful eternity to the two of them. They both had bright pink tinges in their faces and their wide eyes met each other, completely overwhelmed at what just happened. Naruto then smiled that warm smile of his, the one that was only reserved for Hinata.

"Hinata-chan…"

"Naruto-kun…"

And at the exact same moment, those famous three words escaped their lips.

"I love you…"

**A/N: Cue dramatic trumpet fanfare, close curtain, and SCENE! Well, it looks like it finally happened, our heroes are together at last! But don't think this is over yet folks, I still got a chapter or two in mind for our young students at Konoha High. After all, Naruto and Hinata aren't the only couple in need of a little closure here… stay tuned for my next chapter, "Operation Matchmaker: The Lazy One and the Loudmouth!"**

**REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY!!!!!**


	11. Phase One: Discovering Feelings

**Okay folks, so Hinata and Naruto have finally gotten together, but something is still bugging me… oh yeah! What about Shikamaru and Ino? Given, they went to the dance together, but does it mean anything? Well, it does if I have a say in it!**

**Once again, I do not own the characters in Naruto, that honor belongs to Masashi Kishimoto… ::bows to Kishimoto-sama:: XD**

_Chp.11- Operation Matchmaker: The Lazy one and the Loudmouth: Phase One_

Shikamaru, for the first time in his life, was at a complete loss for words.

And not because he chose not to speak, oh no. He couldn't even if he had wanted to.

He never saw himself really getting attached to anyone, at least not this early on in his life. He though high school relationships were one of the most troublesome things on the planet. A couple would be together on an average of maybe a few weeks in Konoha High before news of the teary-eyed break up got around. Shikamaru had told himself time and time again that he would wait and really think about how he felt about a person before trying to date them or start any sort of relationship with them.

Then when he grew up, he would settle down with that woman, raise two kids, and be content to spend the rest of his life that way. He had a plan, and it was a good plan.

So why the hell wasn't he following up on it?

As much as he hated to admit it (and boy did he ever), he had fallen head over heels for the girl currently in his arms, dancing with him. He tried thinking about reasons why it wouldn't work between them. He did manage to come up with a few.

Ino was a social creature, he wasn't.

Ino was loud, he was usually silent, or quiet if he talked at all.

Ino was nosy, Shikamaru couldn't give a crap about other peoples' business.

Ino loved dancing, partying, romance, everything Shikamaru thought was troublesome.

Ino was often impatient, whereas Shikamaru could spend the entire day just staring at the clouds or contemplating a single move in a game of shogi.

They were just so completely different from each other that he couldn't see any relationship between them being a smooth one.

And yet they were still there, and he was… happy.

Shikamaru was at a loss for words. And despite himself, he was enjoying every minute of it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Ino was, for the first time in her life, absolutely speechless.

And not because she chose not to talk, good heavens no. Ino could talk every single minute of every single day if she put her mind to it. And not about anything specific, she could talk about the most random crap anyone could think up.

Ino never thought she would become so attached to someone in high school. She had always told herself to have fun, date a bunch of guys, and through that she would find out what she liked, or hated, in a man. This would ultimately help her make a decision as to what she wanted in a man when she finally settled down after college.

Despite her often spontaneous nature, she had this plan in her head for a long time, ever since she was a little girl. She was a born party machine. And yet she still had a plan, and it was a very good plan, in her opinion.

So why the hell wasn't she following the plan?

As much as she absolutely loathed to admit it (and she definitely did), she was head over heels for the man currently holding her in his arms, dancing slowly with her. She racked her brain for plenty of reasons why it wouldn't work between them. She came up with plenty.

Shikamaru was too reserved, and she loved being social.

Shikamaru was too quiet, whereas she was loud and always in the center of attention.

Shikamaru had no ear or mouth for gossip, whereas she thrived on it.

Shikamaru seemed to be turned off by dancing, romance, parties, pretty much everything Ino loved.

Shikamaru could spend the entire day doing absolutely NOTHING, save for staring at the clouds or sleeping. Ino couldn't find it in herself to sit still for any extended period of time.

And yet there were still there… and she was happier than she had ever remembered being in her life.

Ino was speechless, but at least for the moment, she didn't mind one single bit.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Shikamaru looked up from Ino and managed to catch a glance of Naruto and Hinata across the floor. Ino had somehow convinced him to help her and the others get them together tonight, and judging by the fact that the two were now _kissing_, Shikamaru judged the mission a success. He tapped Ino on the shoulder lightly and pointed across the room.

She followed his finger and found Naruto and Hinata caught in their first kiss, and it took all of her strength not to squeal like a five year old girl. She turned back to Shikamaru and said, "See? I told you it would work, didn't I? You really need to have more faith in me, Shika-kun…"

"Yeah, whatever. While I still think romance is troublesome, I'll admit that at least we did something productive tonight. Maybe she'll get Naruto to be a little quieter in class now…"

Ino giggled and placed her head back on Shikamaru's chest, still swaying to the music lightly. They both thanked god that neither one could see the slight blush that had entered their faces.

They danced like that for the rest of the night, neither one saying another word, and still feeling completely content.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"I love you…"

Naruto and Hinata stared at each other with wide eyes, not able to believe that they had both admitted it at the same time. Naruto was the first to finally recover from shock and he chuckled lightly, saying, "Well… this is a coincidence, isn't it?" Hinata smiled and blushed slightly. "I suppose it is… I'm surprised I actually got the nerve to say it… I've wanted to tell you for a while now… I just didn't know how."

Naruto looked at her, apparently in thought, and then he smiled and said, "You didn't stutter. I think that's the first time you've said so much without stuttering."

Hinata blushed even further and opted not to give her voice a chance to relapse. She instead grasped the collar of Naruto's shirt and kissed him again. Naruto was only too happy to reciprocate the action.

They released each other once again and couldn't help but giggle lightly. Naruto then looked across the way until his eyes fell upon a certain brown haired man dancing with a certain blonde girl. Shikamaru and Ino both appeared to be on cloud nine at this point, their eyes closed and their bodies swaying ever so lightly to the music. He motioned towards them and Hinata smiled upon seeing them.

"I always thought those two looked cute together. It's just too bad they don't seem to be attracted to each other."

"I dunno Hinata-chan. They're looking awfully cozy right now… and is that a _blush _I see on Shikamaru's face?"

Hinata looked again and saw, much to her surprise, that Naruto was right. In the dim lights around the gym, Shikamaru's face seemed to have taken a slight pink hue. Hinata caught a glimpse of Ino's face, finding the same pink hue there as well.

Naruto and Hinata gave each other a significant look and smiled knowingly. Naruto chuckled and said, "Something tells me we should keep an eye on these two. After all, they were watching us all night, so it's only fair that we return the favor."

Hinata nodded and said, "Looks like Tenten will have more matchmaking on her hands." Naruto chuckled and said, "Except this time… we can head this instead of Tenten. We're in class with Shikamaru and Ino more often than she and Neji are. I think that the time has come for our own little plan…"

Hinata smiled and leaned her head back on Naruto's shoulders, "But that can wait… right now I just want to keep dancing with you…"

Naruto smiled warmly and said, "The feeling is mutual, my lady…."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later that night, after the dance had wound down and ended, Shikamaru and Ino had arrived at Ino's front porch, ready to say their goodbyes. She turned to Shikamaru and said in an uncharacteristically soft tone, "I really did have a good time tonight, Shika-kun."

Shikamaru smiled in spite of himself and said, "Yeah, I did too Ino. Maybe there is more to this whole dancing thing than I thought." Ino giggled lightly and walked right on up as close to Shikamaru as she could manage without passing out. "I'll see you in class on Monday, Shika-kun…" She lightly kissed him on the cheek and disappeared into her house, waving at him lightly as she closed the door.

Shikamaru couldn't move. He placed a hand to his cheek, still tingling slightly from where Ino had kissed him. He slowly turned around and walked back to his car, mumbling nonsensical things to himself as he got in and drove away.

He finally got home at about 1 in the morning, and walked past his parents' room, thankful that they were still asleep. He quickly shed his dance clothes and threw on a shirt and a pair of boxers, falling onto his bed with an odd smile on his face, still touching the cheek that Ino had kissed.

They both fell asleep that night to very vivid dreams… each involving the other.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto and Hinata had already gotten to Naruto's apartment by the time Shikamaru and Ino had gone to bed. They both knew that it would probably be best if he took Hinata home, but neither of them seemed to mind ignoring that fact.

After another hour or so of kissing the daylights out of each other, they fell asleep on Naruto's couch, both dreaming happily…

**

* * *

**

**A/N: Okay, so not quite as much plot advancement as I thought, but I promise there will be in the next chapter. I just had to write this because the fluff was gonna rip me apart if I didn't. Stay tuned for the next chappie "Phase Two: Call for Help"**

**ATTENTION ALL SHIKAINO FANS: As you can probably tell, the remainder of this story will have a little more emphasis on this pairing. If anybody has any ideas on how they want this to go, please review with your ideas included! If any jump out at me, I might just use them! Or I might not... but you won't know if you DON'T REVIEW!!!XD**


	12. Phase Two: Call For Help

_Chp.12- Phase Two: Call For Help_

_"Keep your filthy hands off of her you bastard!"_

_The young blonde man leapt into the group of shadowy thugs, making a scene of trying to keep them away from his wife. The red haired woman stumbled back and curled into a corner of the alley, screaming aloud when a gunshot went off._

_The blonde man fell to the ground, still as death, and didn't move again._

_And little Naruto looked on helplessly as the shadowed man aimed the gun right at his mother's head, and with a loud BANG, the scene went white with an ear splitting shriek…_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto's eyes snapped open, but his body wouldn't move. He was completely paralyzed in fear, not really wanting to believe what he had seen. His parents… even though he wasn't there when it happened, the mere fact that they were killed haunted his dreams often. And yet… this one seemed fuzzier, almost as if it was trying to sneak into his sleeping mind, and yet something was fighting to keep it out, something that hadn't been there before last night…

And when Naruto's eyes fell down to the rest of his body, he suddenly knew what it was, smiling lightly.

Hinata was still asleep, breathing lightly and steadily with her head on his chest. Neither of them had changed from the previous night, albeit their clothes and hair were considerably more ruffled. He let the memories of the previous night wash over him in one giant wave, the smile on his face widening until it threatened to split his face in half.

He felt Hinata stir and relaxed again as her head rose ever so slightly, her pale lavender eyes fluttering open slowly. She looked somewhat lost for a moment, the surroundings seeming somewhat unfamiliar. Then she saw Naruto's blue eyes staring at her lovingly and the tumblers fell into place in her still half-asleep mind.

"Good morning Hinata-chan… did you sleep well?"

"Yeah… Naruto-kun, last night was…"

"Heavenly? Yeah, I know…"

Naruto closed his eyes for a second and then remembered the dance last night, and how Hinata had fought off that rabid redheaded girl in a jealous fit. "Hinata-chan, I don't think I told you this… but when you laid out that redhead last night, I honestly thought that was hot, in an odd sort of way…" The words had left his mouth before they could stop them. He quickly looked to Hinata, a blush creeping into his now embarrassed face.

Much to his surprise, Hinata merely smiled and kissed him gently. She rose up from the couch and stretched to the sky, trying to get the blood flowing freely through her body again. She disappeared into the kitchen just as the phone rang.

Naruto looked to the clock nearby and found that it was already half past ten in the morning. He heard the ringing stop and realized that Hinata must've picked it up in the kitchen. It was then that a stabbing fear entered his heart… _what if it was Neji!?_

Hinata picking up the phone in _his _apartment this early in the morning would definitely leave an impression, but as he got up from the couch, Hinata reappeared, pointing the phone at Naruto. "It's Shikamaru, he wants to talk to you."

Naruto looked confused for a moment. Why would Shikamaru be calling him at this time in the morning? Naruto knew that the lazy genius never woke up this early on a weekend.

Cautiously picking up the phone, Naruto said, "Hello?"

"Hey there Romeo. Now what would Hinata be doing in _your apartment?_"

"If you tell Neji about this then I will…"

"Relax baka, Neji and Tenten asked me to be the one to call you this morning, just to make sure your night went fine last night after you left. Ino's calling Hinata's apartment… and about now she'll probably be getting her answering machine… so what happened last night?"

"Nothing _happened_. We came home a fell asleep, end of story."

Shikamaru chuckled with a tone that clearly said he didn't believe Naruto. "Whatever man… but as long as we're on the subject of last night, can I ask you something?"

"I guess… what's up?"

"Well… this is so troublesome, but you see… there's… there's _this girl_…"

"Oh, what about _Ino_? It is Ino, right?"

Shikamaru was silent for a moment. "I hate you. I hate you with such a passion."

"What else is new? So let me guess, you have a crush on Ino but you don't know if she feels the same way, so you've come to me, the newly off the market guy, for advice?"

"As much as I hate to admit it… yes, I am."

Naruto chuckled and said, "Look, I'd love to help, but I'm a little busy right now, I've got a crap load of home work this weekend and I need to get a start on it. Talk to me when we get back to school on Monday, alright?" Shikamaru growled, but said, "Fine, I'll talk to you later." Naruto heard the line cut off and he put the phone back.

"Hinata, I'd get back to your apartment, Ino is going to get worried."

* * *

Hinata got back to her apartment as quickly as possible, not wanting her father to get suspicious as to why she wasn't up at quarter of 11 in the morning when she was normally such an early riser.

Thankfully, there were no angry messages from her father when she checked the machine. There was however, a series of short, increasingly worried messages from Ino, trying to find out where the hell Hinata was.

Hinata smiled and giggled as she dialed the number Ino left.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mrs. Yamanaka, this is Hinata, one of Ino's classmates, is she there?"

"Oh, of course! _Ino, it's Hinata, you friend from school!_"

Hinata heard what sounded like feet bounding down a set of stairs as a no doubt worried Ino flew to the kitchen in her house. She heard the phone being passed off and forced back a laugh as Ino quickly said, "Are you alright!? Did Naruto touch you!? Where the hell have you…"

"Ino-chan, I'm alright. I spent the night at Naruto's, but nothing happened. A lot of… k-kissing but nothing else." Hinata blushed profusely, having actually admitted to kissing Naruto.

Ino was silent for a few moments, finally letting out a quiet, "Oh…" But she was right back on her band wagon the next moment.

"Well, how did it go!? Is he a good kisser? Can he dance? Does he have a nice place? DETAILS, GIRL, DETAILS!" Hinata held the receiver a foot from her ear and looked at it in slight fear and total embarrassment. She decided to be brief in her responses so that she could hopefully satisfy the gossip-hungry blonde without revealing too much.

"Okay, the night was wonderful, he can dance really well, his place is bigger than I thought and quite clean too… and I don't kiss and tell." She forced back a giggle, hearing Ino groan over the line. "Aww, you're no fun Hinata… but anyway, can I ask you something… _personal_?"

Hinata was cautious as she quietly responded, "I s-suppose… w-what about?"

Ino seemed to be muttering to herself for a short while before answering, "You managed to bag your man, so maybe… _you can help me with mine?_" Hinata covered the receiver so Ino wouldn't hear her relieved sigh. She had expected it to be another question about her and Naruto.

"I don't know how much help I'll be, but I can try. So who's the guy?" Ino once again seemed to be debating with herself over the phone before giving a clear answer.

"It's… it… it's _Shikamaru_…"

Hinata smiled, in reality, she saw that coming a mile away. But she didn't want Ino to know about that, at least to help the poor blonde save some face.

And as Ino began rattling off her issues with her feelings for the lazy genius, Hinata thought amusedly, _"This is going to be an interesting week in school…_"

* * *

Naruto was casually writing down notes on paper, plucking them out on his guitar in his bedroom. After crumpling up the paper and throwing it on the already large pile of paper wads next to his bed, he heard a knock at his door.

Going to open it, he found Jiraiya there with a slightly bemused expression on his face. Not at all liking the smirk on the old man's wrinkled face, Naruto cautiously asked, "What do you want, Jiraiya?"

"I saw your _little friend_ coming out of your place this morning, kid…"

Naruto sighed and said, "And?"

"Sooo…. How was it?"

"How was what?"

"C'mon… _you know_…"

Naruto didn't like where this was headed at all. Jiraiya could see that beating around the bush was not getting anywhere, so he decided to be frank.

"Listen, I'm old and need to find my fun where I can get it, so humor an old man, will you? Is she good in the sack?"

The poor bastard failed to notice the vein bulging in Naruto's head for the briefest of moments. And anyone who walked in on the scene could plainly tell that Jiraiya was a dead man talking.

Naruto stood there, looking at Jiraiya with an unreadable expression on his face. Naruto slowly but calmly closed the door, without locking it. Jiraiya heard him shuffle about his apartment, apparently searching for something.

Inside, Naruto searched about his apartment until he found what he was looking for, a small key. Fighting to keep his blind rage down for the moment, he took the key to his bedroom, and pulled a long, think box out from under his bed. Unlocking the box with the key, he pulled out a long wooden bowken (wood katana used for martial arts training, hurts like hell too XD). He silently thanked Iruka for giving him brief sword lessons several years ago and went back to his apartment door.

He opened the door and, promptly ignoring Jiraiya's beginning of a question, whacked him over the head with the bowken. Jiraiya yelped, "What the hell are you…"

WHACK

Naruto was beet red with anger and he yelled at Jiraiya, "I SWEAR, I'VE PUT UP WITH A LOT OF YOUR PERVERTED CRAP…"

_WHACK_

"OVER THE YEARS, BUT NOW YOU'VE DONE IT, LECH!!!"

_WHACK-WHACK-WHACK_

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF HINATA LIKE _THAT!"_

_WHACK-WHACKITTY-WHACK_

"YOU KEEP YOUR FILTHY…"

_WHACK_

"SHAMELESS…"

_WHACK-WHACK_

"DIRTY…"

_WHACK-WHACK-WHACK_

"PERVERTED MIND OFF OF _HINATA-CHAN!!!_"

_WHACK-WHACK-WHACKITTY-WHACK-WHACK!!!!!_

Jiraiya ran down the stairs, Naruto hot on his heels, his bowken smacking along all sides of Jiraiya's head as the chase continued down the five floors worth of stairs and into the lobby. Jiraiya just barely managed to get to the front door and burst through, making a full blown dash to the corner of the block. Naruto could be seeing waving his bowken around like a maniac, screaming bloody murder and roaring like an animal as he chased the old lecher along the street. Jiraiya lost Naruto around the corner of the block and as the blonde haired teen watched the lecher try to melt into the crowd, he yelled "IF I SEE YOU WITHIN AN INCH OF ME OR HER THEN I WILL SHOVE THIS UP YOUR OLD WRINKLED BUTT!"

Naruto ignored the slightly frightened glances he was getting from people on the street as he stomped back to his apartment, bowken gripped tightly in his hand.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Hinata walked up the stairs and found Naruto's door unlocked and open slightly. She looked through the whole apartment, and no Naruto. His guitar was out on his bed, along with a long empty box. She looked on his phone, no messages on the machine.

She looked up as the door creaked, finding a rather livid Naruto walking back inside, his cheeks pink with anger and a bowken in his hand. "N-Naruto-kun? W-why are you holding a…"

Naruto finally registered Hinata's presence, and quickly placed the bowken by a corner of the room. "Sorry, I was just… on pest control… back so soon?" Hinata nodded and said, "Ino called… she's having guy troubles with…"

"Shikamaru… he called earlier this morning, if you'll remember, and he's got a thing for Ino too."

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other, surprised for a few moments, before laughing it off. Hinata took a seat on the couch and saw a familiar glint in Naruto's eyes. "Naruto-kun… what are you planning?"

Naruto chuckled and said, "I think it's time Ino and Shikamaru had a small… _accident_. Listen in, this is too good…"

* * *

**A/N: Jiraiya plus bowken equal OWNED. And what is Naruto planning for Shika and Ino? Well, you'll just have to find out next time! Remember, reviews are like chocolate, I can't get enough of them.**


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